Sports Tourism and MAPEI Revitalize a Midwestern Town

Located at the intersection of three major interstates, the Rantoul Family Sports Complex is designed to draw people from Chicago, Indianapolis and St. Louis. None of these cities has sports fields that are equal to the caliber of those that are found at the new complex. A field is a field, right? No. Because these fields at the Rantoul complex were created using superior-quality MAPEI products.

MAPEI on the job

An official at the facility described MAPEI’s products by saying, “The synthetic turf is brand-new, state-of-the-art. We use a rubber-sand combination that keeps the turf cool and comfortable to play on. It’s like playing on real grass.” And the lack of maintenance costs (mowing, water, etc.) combined with comfort and safety made the use of MAPEI turf products a win/win.

MAPEI’s Lee Hefner was the sales representative in charge of this project. He worked closely with the installing contractor to ensure that the MAPEI products Ultrabond Turf PU 2K two-component, fast-set, urethane turf seam adhesive and Ultrabond Turf Tape were correctly applied using Ultrabond Turf Glue Box.

The main challenge was the sheer size of the project – 19 fields encompassing 1,552,267 square feet (144 210 m²) of turf. And those fields were not always accessible. The job was also challenged by the fact that the jobsite itself had to close for the winter months when the fields were blanketed by snow.

The sports complex is now open – and so are surrounding restaurants, hotels and shops. The Village of Rantoul has been revitalized thanks to the concept of sports tourism and the Rantoul Family Sports Complex, which features synthetic turf that was installed courtesy of MAPEI products.